Control of the MKQA tuning and aperture kickers of the LHC

The large hadron collider (LHC) at CERN has been equipped with four fast pulsed kicker magnets in RA43 situated at point 4 which are part of the measurement system for the tune and the dynamic aperture of the LHC beam (Beam 1 and Beam 2). For the tune measurement 'Q', the magnets will excite oscillations in part of the beam. This is achieved by means of a generator producing a 5 µs base half-sine pulse of 1.2 kA [1] amplitude, superimposed with a 3rd harmonic to produce a 2 µs flat top. A kick repetition rate of 2 Hz will be possible. To measure the dynamic aperture 'A' of the LHC at different beam energies, the same magnets will also be driven by a more powerful generator which produces a 43 µs base half-sine current pulse of 3.8 kA. For the 'A' mode a thyristor is used as switching element inside the generator. A final third mode named 'AC dipole' will rely on the beam being excited coherently at a frequency close but outside its Eigen-frequencies by an oscillating dipole field. The beam is expected to oscillate at the exciter frequency of 3 kHz with a phase shift of π/2. The 'AC dipole' will use two 18 kW audio amplifiers capable of driving the magnets at 1 kHz(rms) around 3 kHz or between 2.7 kHz and 4 kHz. The complete system uses supervisory control implemented with Siemens PLC technology with added Siemens PROFIsafe safety feature to treat the various interlocks that have been introduced in the circuits and to assu re a safe functioning and provide 'LOCAL' and 'REMOTE' control (via CCC) of the complete installation

Study of CuI thin films properties for application as anode buffer layer in organic solar cells

After chemico-physical characterization of CuI thin films, the structures indium tin oxide (ITO) /CuI are systematically studied. We show that the morphology of the 3 nm thick CuI film depends on its deposition rate. To obtain smooth homogeneous CuI film, it is necessary to depose it at 0.005 nm/s. After optimization of the deposition conditions of CuI, it is shown that it behaves like a template for the organic layer. For instance, when the organic film is copper-phthalocyanine, the molecules which are usually perpendicular to the plane of the substrate lie parallel to it when deposited onto CuI. In a same way, when the electron donor is a prophyrin derivative, CuI allows to double the power conversion efficiency of the cells based on the heterojunction porphyrin/C-60. When CuI is used as anode buffer layer, it increases systematically the short circuit current, the open circuit voltage, thus the efficiency of the organic solar cell. These effects are related, not only to the improvement of the band matching between the ITO and the electron donor, but also to the templating effect of the CuI. Moreover, we show that the beneficial effect of CuI. is effective, not only with ITO, but also with fluorine doped tin oxide

Engineered Sleeping Beauty Transposon as Efficient System to Optimize Chimp Adenoviral Production

Sleeping Beauty (SB) is the first DNA transposon employed for efficient transposition in vertebrate cells, opening new applications for genetic engineering and gene therapies. A transposon-based gene delivery system holds the favourable features of non-viral vectors and an attractive safety profile. Here, we employed SB to engineer HEK293 cells for optimizing the production of a chimpanzee Adenovector (chAd) belonging to the Human Mastadenovirus C species. To date, chAd vectors are employed in several clinical settings for infectious diseases, last but not least COVID-19. A robust, efficient and quick viral vector production could advance the clinical application of chAd vectors. To this aim, we firstly swapped the hAd5 E1 with chAd-C E1 gene by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We demonstrated that in the absence of human Ad5 E1, chimp Ad-C E1 gene did not support HEK293 survival. To improve chAd-C vector production, we engineered HEK293 cells to stably express the chAd-C precursor terminal protein (ch.pTP), which plays a crucial role in chimpanzee Adenoviral DNA replication. The results indicate that exogenous ch.pTP expression significantly ameliorate the packaging and amplification of recombinant chAd-C vectors thus, the engineered HEK293ch.pTP cells could represent a superior packaging cell line for the production of these vectors

Glucose pulse. A simple method to estimate the amount of glucose oxidized during exercise in type 1 diabetic patients

In type 1 diabetic patients, exercise contributes to enhance insulin sensitivity and may help, together with diet and insulin therapy, to achieve and maintain better metabolic control. Fat and carbohydrates are the main substrates for energy production in skeletal muscle during aerobic exercise in well-fed humans, with their relative contribution to total energy production being a function of exercise intensity. Below the anaerobic threshold, both oxygen consumption and heart rate during exercise increase linearly as a function of exercise intensity. On the basis of these relationships, the aim of the present study was to verify the possibility of using heart rate to estimate the amount of glucose oxidized during exercise in type 1 diabetic patients as well as in a control group of healthy subjects. This study shows that heart rate can be a useful physiological parameter to be used to estimate the amount of glucose oxidized during exercise

Optical fibers for endoscopic high-power Er:YAG laserosteotomy

ignificance: The highest absorption peaks of the main components of bone are in the mid-infrared region, making Er:YAG and CO2 lasers the most efficient lasers for cutting bone. Yet, studies of deep bone ablation in minimally invasive settings are very limited, as finding suitable materials for coupling high-power laser light with low attenuation beyond 2  μm is not trivial. Aim: The first aim of this study was to compare the performance of different optical fibers in terms of transmitting Er:YAG laser light with a 2.94-μm wavelength at high pulse energy close to 1 J. The second aim was to achieve deep bone ablation using the best-performing fiber, as determined by our experiments. Approach: In our study, various optical fibers with low attenuation (λ  =  2.94  μm) were used to couple the Er:YAG laser. The fibers were made of germanium oxide, sapphire, zirconium fluoride, and hollow-core silica, respectively. We compared the fibers in terms of transmission efficiency, resistance to high Er:YAG laser energy, and bending flexibility. The best-performing fiber was used to achieve deep bone ablation in a minimally invasive setting. To do this, we adapted the optimal settings for free-space deep bone ablation with an Er:YAG laser found in a previous study. Results: Three of the fibers endured energy per pulse as high as 820 mJ at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. The best-performing fiber, made of germanium oxide, provided higher transmission efficiency and greater bending flexibility than the other fibers. With an output energy of 370 mJ per pulse at 10 Hz repetition rate, we reached a cutting depth of 6.82  ±  0.99  mm in sheep bone. Histology image analysis was performed on the bone tissue adjacent to the laser ablation crater; the images did not show any structural damage. Conclusions: The findings suggest that our prototype could be used in future generations of endoscopic devices for minimally invasive laserosteotomy

Indium free electrode, highly flexible, transparent and conductive for optoelectronic devices

WO3/Ag/WO3 multilayer structures were used as ITO free transparent electrode, transparent heat mirrors and transparent heaters. WO3/Ag/WO3 stacked layers were deposited by sequential sublimation, evaporation under vacuum. After optimization of Ag thickness (16 nm), they exhibit low sheet resistance (8 Ω/sq), high transmittance in the visible (TMax = 91.5%, averaged T400-700 = 80.6%) and high reflection in the near infrared and infrared regions. These values are optimal when it is used as transparent electrode but, as transparent heat mirrors 18 nm are better due to higher reflection in the NIR and IR. All these properties made possible to use them in different devices. When used as transparent anode in organic photovoltaic cells, they allow achieving performance similar to those obtained with ITO. Their transmission and reflection spectra show that they can also be employed as transparent heat mirrors. Similarly, studies dedicated to heating properties of the WO3/Ag/WO3 multilayer structures show that their performance are comparable to those obtained with another possible substituent to ITO, silver nanowires thin films

The White Rabbit Project

Reliable, fast and deterministic transmission of control information in a network is a need formany distributed systems. One example is timing systems, where a reference frequency is used to accurately schedule time-critical messages. TheWhite Rabbit (WR) project is a multi-laboratory and multi-company effort to bring together the best of the data transfer and timing worlds in a completely open design. It takes advantage of the latest developments for improving timing over Ethernet, such as IEEE 1588 (Precision Time Protocol) and Synchronous Ethernet. The presented approach aims for a general purpose, fieldbus-like transmission system, which provides deterministic data and timing (sub-ns accuracy and ps jitter) to around 1000 stations. It automatically compensates for fiber lengths in the order of 10 km. This paper describes the WR design goals and the specification used for the project. It goes on to describe the central component of the WR system structure - the WR switch - with theoretical considerations about the requirements. Finally, it presents real timing measurements for the first prototypes of WR hardware

Exploring the feasibility of Conjoint Analysis as a tool for prioritizing innovations for implementation

Background: In an era of scarce and competing priorities for implementation, choosing what to implement is a key decision point for many behavioural change projects. The values and attitudes of the professionals and managers involved inevitably impact the priority attached to decision options. Reliably capturing such values is challenging. Methods: This paper presents an approach for capturing and incorporating professional values into the prioritization of healthcare innovations being considered for adoption. Conjoint Analysis (CA) was used in a single UK Primary Care Trust to measure the priorities of healthcare professionals working with women with postnatal depression. Rating-based CA data was gathered using a questionnaire and then mapped onto 12 interventions being considered as a means of improving the management of postnatal depression. Results: The ‘impact on patient care’ and the ‘quality of supporting evidence’ associated with the potential innovations were the most influential in shaping priorities. Professionals were least influenced by whether an innovation was an existing national or local priority, or whether current practice in the Trust was meeting minimum standards. Ranking the 12 innovations by the preferences of potential adopters revealed ‘guided self help’ was the top priority for implementation and ‘screening questions for post natal depression’ the least. When other factors were considered (such as the presence of routine data or planned implementation activity elsewhere in the Trust), the project team chose to combine the eight related treatments and implement these as a single innovation referred to as ‘psychological therapies’. Conclusions: Using Conjoint Analysis to prioritise potential innovation implementation options is a feasible means of capturing the utility of stakeholders and thus increasing the chances of an innovation being adopted. There are some practical barriers to overcome such as increasing response rates to conjoint surveys before routine and unevaluated use of this technique should be considered

The lncRNA HOTAIR transcription is controlled by HNF4α-induced chromatin topology modulation

The expression of the long noncoding RNA HOTAIR (HOX Transcript Antisense Intergenic RNA) is largely deregulated in epithelial cancers and positively correlates with poor prognosis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and gastrointestinal cancers. Furthermore, functional studies revealed a pivotal role for HOTAIR in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, as this RNA is causal for the repressive activity of the master factor SNAIL on epithelial genes. Despite the proven oncogenic role of HOTAIR, its transcriptional regulation is still poorly understood. Here hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-α (HNF4α), as inducer of epithelial differentiation, was demonstrated to directly repress HOTAIR transcription in the mesenchymal-to epithelial transition. Mechanistically, HNF4α was found to cause the release of a chromatin loop on HOTAIR regulatory elements thus exerting an enhancer-blocking activity